The NHS

Spending on health care provision in 2014, according to the World Bank (in US dollars):

UK                $3598

NZ                $4063

France           $4904

Germany      $5006

Sweden        $5680

Canada         $5718

Australia      $6110

USA             $9146

Switzerland  $9276

Norway        $9715

At the same time, the 2014 Commonwealth Fund ranked the UK health service as top in almost all health outcomes.

Remember these figures the next time you read in a newspaper what a mess the NHS is in and see government ministers trying to justify paying hospital doctors less for working longer hours.

The NHS produces good outcomes for patients despite spending very little money. Makes you wonder how it would perform if we spent a bit more on it so we had enough doctors, nurses and tech support.